Tag: Falcon 9

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX, NASA delay planet-hunting probe’s liftoff

SpaceX Falcon 9
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 sits on its launch pad. (SpaceX via YouTube)

NASA and SpaceX say they’ll take more time to launch the Transiting Exoplanet Survey System, or TESS, just to make sure the $337 million mission will be on the right track to hunt for planets beyond our solar system.

TESS’ liftoff aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket had been scheduled for today, but in an online update, NASA said “launch teams are standing down today to conduct additional guidance, navigation and control analysis.”

The launch was retargeted for April 18, with an anticipated liftoff time of 6:51 p.m. ET (3:51 p.m. PT).

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

Reused cargo ship launched on reused rocket

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad. (NASA via YouTube)

SpaceX sent nearly three tons of supplies, hardware and experiments to the International Space Station today, using a Falcon 9 rocket booster and a Dragon capsule that have both been flown before.

The rocket rose from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT).

“We had a perfectly nominal mission, as we like around here,” SpaceX launch commentator John Federspiel said during a webcast from the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. “Falcon 9 performed its job splendidly.”

It’s the second “refurbish-and-reuse” mission of its kind. The first flight of a refurbished Falcon 9 first-stage booster with a reused Dragon took place last December.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket puts 10 satellites in orbit

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (SpaceX Photo)

Another 10 next-generation Iridium telecommunications satellites were sent into orbit today aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

This makes the fifth set of 10, out of a total of 75 that SpaceX is putting in orbit for the Iridium NEXT constellation.

The two-stage rocket lifted off at 7:13 a.m. PT into a clear California sky, sparking sightings by the likes of actress Bo Derek. “Congratulations @SpaceX #liftoff from my backyard,” the star of the movie “10” tweeted.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX launches its 50th Falcon 9 rocket

SpaceX launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lofts the Hispasat 30W-6 satellite to space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (SpaceX Photo)

SpaceX sent a Spanish broadband telecommunications satellite into orbit tonight, marking the 50th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket.

The rocket sent Hispasat 30W-6 rose into the night sky from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 12:33 a.m. ET March 6 (9:33 p.m. PT March 5), at the start of a two-hour launch window.

Launch commentator John Insprucker called it a “great liftoff.”

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX launches first Starlink internet satellites

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (SpaceX via YouTube)

SpaceX put its first two prototype Starlink broadband satellites into orbit along with a Spanish radar imaging satellite today.

The launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California came at 6:17 a.m. PT Thursday, 24 hours after strong upper-level winds forced a postponement of the first attempt.

No such issue arose during today’s trouble-free countdown, and the exhaust left behind by the rocket’s ascent made for an eerie, UFO-like picture in the skies above Southern California.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX launches satellite, and rocket survives

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, sending the GovSat-1 satellite to space. (SpaceX via YouTube)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent a telecommunications satellite into orbit today for Luxembourg’s government and the SES satellite venture, setting the stage for next week’s maiden launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.

The GovSat-1 spacecraft is the first component in a NATO satellite constellationthat’s designed to provide secure communications for tactical operations, maritime missions or over areas affected by humanitarian crises. It was built by Orbital ATK, with anti-jamming and encryption systems, and is meant exclusively for governmental and institutional security applications.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

Aliens? Even Elon Musk has fun with rocket show

Rocket contrail
The contrail left behind by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch looked like a giant fish in the skies over Southern California. (Elon Musk via Twitter)

The bloom of exhaust that blossomed in Southern California’s skies during Dec. 22’s liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket sparked jokes and jitters — with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk joining in.

Was it an alien visitation? A North Korean rocket attack? A stunt involving Santa’s sleigh?

Folks who were following the launch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base at sunset knew full well what it was: a rocket booster’s contrail, catching the last rays of sunlight high above the California coast.

But for a while there, it was a mystery to unaware residents in Los Angeles, San Diego and locales in between. Such displays, including the infamous “Norway Spiral” of 2009, often spark UFO reports.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX satellite launch sparks sky spectacle

SpaceX launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (SpaceX via YouTube)

SpaceX has sent 10 more satellites into orbit for the Iridium NEXT constellation, passing the halfway point in its 75-satellite launch contract.

The satellites went into space aboard a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket launched at 5:27 p.m. PT today from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and were deployed sequentially into pole-to-pole orbits.

The first-stage booster was initially used for an Iridium mission in June, and then was recovered and refurbished for today’s launch. The contrail that was created during the booster’s descent provided a spectacle that was visible in sunset skies throughout Southern California.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX takes rocket reusability to new heights

Falcon 9 liftoff
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (NASA via YouTube)

For the first time, SpaceX has sent a refurbished Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station from a refurbished launch pad, atop a refurbished Falcon 9 rocket.

The Falcon lifted off at 10:35 a.m. ET (7:35 a.m. PT) today from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

It’s the first mission to take off from Pad 40 since an earlier Falcon 9 went up in flames during a pre-launch test in September 2016, doing significant damage to the complex.

It’s taken SpaceX that long to finish its repairs and upgrades. In the meantime, the California-based company has been using Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for Falcon 9 launches. Switching back to Pad 40 will free up 39A for the maiden launch of SpaceX’s super-sized Falcon Heavy rocket, a closely watched event that’s currently set for next month.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX will take rocket reusability to new heights

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
A soot-marked SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on its pad at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (SpaceX Photo)

For the first time, SpaceX is aiming to send up a refurbished Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station from a refurbished launch pad, atop a refurbished Falcon 9 rocket.

Liftoff is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. ET (7:35 a.m. PT) Dec. 15 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, with webcasts planned by NASA as well as SpaceX.

It’ll be the first mission to take off from Pad 40 since an earlier Falcon 9 went up in flames during a pre-launch test in September 2016, doing significant damage to the complex.

Get the full story on GeekWire.